"Living Through Love" means marriage freedom for all
As I’m sure most of you have heard, Dominic Sheahan-Stahl was recently uninvited from being the commencement speaker at his younger brother’s graduation from Sacred Heart Academy here in Mount Pleasant.
Dominic was not allowed to speak at his alma mater’s graduation ceremony, because he recently posted engagement photos on his Facebook page of him and his fiancé.
But Dominic did not let the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw keep him from speaking. Instead, he gave his speech in Plachta Auditorium this past Sunday. His message inspired the recent graduates, and all in attendance, to live through love. And to never let fear rule our lives.
Dominic Sheahan-Stahl’s speech came a mere two weeks after President Obama himself came out in support of marriage equality. Both of these inspiring men had the same message: love.
As a nation that considers itself the leader of the “free world," our policies do not always match up to those values that we supposedly stand on. Freedom is having the ability to make choices for ourselves. Freedom is allowing people to marry whomever they love. Only seven U.S. states, and the District of Columbia, have complete marriage equality. Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington are the only states that allow their citizens to be free.
LGBT rights affect us all. We are all people; mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. We all know what it’s like to feel pain. And we all know that love, in all forms, can help make that pain go away. There is no greater feeling than to love and be loved. It is a constant in our lives that knows no gender, sex, race, nationality or wealth.
A recent Gallup poll shows that 53 percent of Americans currently believe that all couples should have the right to marry. So, why are we allowing the 45 percent of the population that is against marriage equality to speak for the majority?
This is not a partisan issue; this is a human issue. Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have members who support marriage equality. It is 2012; we should be past the times of hate and discrimination. So, let’s all learn a lesson from Dominic.
Let’s all live in love.
“Those who deny freedoms to others deserve it not for themselves.” – Abraham Lincoln
